Fried Frank secured a significant victory on behalf of WP 760 Market Street, LLC (“WP 760”), co-owned by long time Firm client Angelo Gordon & Co. and City Center Retail, in litigation in New York County Supreme Court against Thor 760M LLC (“Thor”), an affiliate of Thor Equities. In the litigation, WP 760 sought to obtain funds held in escrow in connection with the July 2008 sale to Thor of 760 Market Street, an 11 story mixed-use retail and office building in the central business district of San Francisco for a purchase price of US$130m. Pursuant to the parties’ Sale-Purchase Agreement, WP 760 was entitled to US$7.5m in escrowed funds in the event that it procured the termination of a below-market lease held by one of the building’s retail tenants, Rite Aid. When WP 760 secured a termination of the Rite Aid lease in February 2009, Thor claimed that WP 760 had not met the conditions for release of the escrowed funds and both parties filed suit in New York State Supreme Court seeking a declaratory judgment. In the summer of 2009, both parties moved for summary judgment. On May 26, 2010, the Court issued an order granting WP 760’s motion for summary judgment and denying relief to Thor, declaring that WP 760 was entitled to the escrowed funds and to its attorneys’ fees. The Court agreed with WP 760’s arguments that WP 760 fulfilled the contractual conditions for release of the escrowed funds by securing the termination of Rite Aid’s lease and that Thor was attempting to re-write the contractual requirements for release of the funds. A further hearing was ordered regarding the amount of WP 760’s attorneys fees.

Working on the matter were litigation partner Janice Mac Avoy (NY) and litigation special counsel John W. Brewer (NY).